Dr. Mohammad Muazzam Sharif
“If we wish to know the force of human genius we should read Shakespeare”. (William Hazlitt) Worldwide, Shakespeare’s plays continue to be circulated on an immense scale in a variety of guises – as performances, translations, editions, and adaptations. In the present age, Shakespeare is a worldwide cultural icon. Similar to his borrowing of works from others, Shakespeare is borrowed, appropriated and adapted worldwide. From love and loss to war and politics, it is not difficult to apply his themes to contemporary times. His themes are universal. Shakespeare’s plays have reached out to the people of new localities and are appropriated according to the social, cultural and political concerns of the new audiences who are far away from Shakespeare’s own culture, region and time. People from different countries reshape and revise the plays of Shakespeare to suit their situations in modern-times accordingly.
Shakespeare and his plays are taught and read in the universities at Bachelor, Master, and MPhil/PhD levels in Pakistan, where we have academic approaches to the plays, for instance the famous tragedy of Hamlet, that are mostly rooted in rather old-fashioned literary criticism, which adhere to the Aristotelian view point of tragedy, tragic-hero, hamartia and catharsis, resulting in classroom-discussions of Hamlet’s indecision to avenge his father’s murder only. Keeping in mind this old-fashioned criticism, it is no surprise that Hamlet is still read and taught in old literary ways, where it is critically analysed as a revenge play. Reading Hamlet as a revenge play is equally dangerous in a society which is already prone to violence. Where Hamlet (and English Literature) is confined to old-fashioned criticism, it denies readers the freedom to use their own socio-cultural and political knowledge in the understanding and interpretation of the play.
On the contrary, outside the Academia, Shakespeare and his plays are largely studied from new perspectives. Numerous references are made to and from the plays of Shakespeare to refer to a particular social, cultural and/or political event/incident/issue, especially in the media reports of Pakistan. He is one of the most frequently quoted authors in the media reports of Pakistan. His plays and references to and from them are becoming more and more popular among the public as they are presented in ways that highlight contemporary social, cultural and political problems in an and apt illuminating manner.
“For murder, though have no tongue, will speak” (Hamlet). Whether it is Pakistani Taming of the Shrew as in Ilaaj-e-ZidDastyaab Hay or Pakistani The Winter’s Tale as in Fasana-e-Ajaib, or Measure for Measure as in Rahm, frequent parallels are drawn between the texts of the plays and modern-day Pakistan. The adaptations have much to offer to Pakistani audience as well as international audience. The former two deals with the issues and problems related to patriarchy, forced marriages/forced-arranged marriages, honour killings, language differences, homosexuality, and the later is concerned with corruption, both political and apolitical in Pakistan. In fact, the Pakistani Winter’s Tale is based upon the real-life incident of honour killing of Farzana Parveen, back in 2014.While the relevant bodies of the government as well as non-government are trying their best to address issues mentioned above, the Academia (Colleges and Universities) need to play their part by bringing awareness about the same. The academia in Pakistan needs to step up the teaching methods alongside changes and improvements in the curriculum to equally shoulder the burden with the other government bodies. Teaching Shakespeare the right way (decolonization) is just one example out of hundreds that the academia may apply to help the greater cause of social reformation in Pakistan. The academia must be therapeutic and reformative to not only address issues related to our society, culture, and politics but to produce better citizens for the progress of our nation. If we wish to know and see the force of our nation the Academia must act as a human genius!
